Ballad of You and I
by DaffodilDreamer
Summary: Scorpius likes to annoy his best friend, Albus Potter, by doting on his little sister Lily. Will he be able to stop when Lily gets a boyfriend? Will the pair be able to settle for being best friends?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Scorpius waved his wand lazily over the quill in front of him, watching as it rose into the air, elongating as it went, before it floated gracefully back into his lap. He picked up the newly transfigured satin ribbon and murmured a second incantation to turn it deep orange in color. After taking a moment to admire his handy work – some of the first he had done as an of age wizard – he tied it into an elegant bow around the slender green stem of the brilliant sunflower nestled between his knees.

He slid the train window open, just enough to levitate the finished product outside and over the hustle and bustle of the King's Cross platform. He focused his attention on the redhead, who currently had her arms wrapped around her father's neck, whispering good bye in his ear. After the hug had broken and her parents had retreated through the brick wall once again, he sent the flower into motion.

It reached her just as she had finished straightening her owl's cage on the trolley she was sharing with her black haired, bespectacled brother. It hovered by her shoulder and took her by surprise when she turned around. He could hear her light laughter as she plucked it out of the air and he smirked and waved when her brother's irritated gaze met his. Scorpius reclined in his seat, out of view of a disgruntled looking prefect lingering outside, and waited.

A few minutes later, the redhead appeared in the doorway and he helped her position her trunk and owl into the overhanging luggage rack before taking her into his arms for a long awaited hug.

"Al was jealous you wrote to me more than to him," she said as she pulled away from him, leaving his shirt smelling of vanilla and strawberries.

"Did I really?" he chuckled, resuming his seat across from her.

"He counted each and every letter," she laughed. "You should be glad he considers you such a good friend, or he might try to find someone less annoying."

Scorpius laughed. "It's good for him, besides he should have expected it."

"Should have expected what?" a voice asked from outside the compartment.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows jokingly at Lily. "That empty threats of death and castration would not deter me from falling madly in love with your dear sweet sister."

Albus Potter rolled his brilliant green eyes as he heaved his trunk above his sister's head. "It's been five years now Scor, can we stop the childish games? We all know Lily is too good for you," he said.

"And yet your eyes still send daggers, threatening to mutilate my skillfully crafted gifts," Scorpius pouted. Teasing his best friend was all too easy sometimes (not to mention extremely entertaining).

"Yeah Al, that's hardly something a best friend would do," Lily piped in.

Al glared at her as well. "And making repeated advances on your best friend's sister after it was

explicitly stated that she was off limits is?"

"Oh Al, we all know it's in good fun," Lily countered, waving her hand dismissively at him. "Don't you have somewhere Prefecty to be?"

He groaned after a quick glance at his watch. "Rose is going to kill me."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Isn't she your cousin?"

"Rose will always satisfy her role as Head Girl before she even thinks about her role as our cousin," Lily stated somewhat crossly.

Al nodded in agreement before bolting out of the compartment. "Hey don't forget your noose!" Scorpius shouted after him as he tossed Al's green and silver school tie out the door behind him.

He retook his seat next to the window and watched Lily for a few moments as she gently fingered the petals of the sunflower. "Again," Lily said as she tucked the perky yellow flower into her bag, "not my favorite."

Scorpius chuckled lightly. And so their friendly banter began once again. He had missed this time with her. "You'd think that I would have figured it out by now, after all of the Valentine's Days, birthdays, Christmases, Easters, September firsts, and other random days warranting flowers."

"Time's a ticking," Lily said as she swept her hair out of her face.

Scorpius pulled the orange bow off of the sunflower and motioned for her to turn around. He gathered her smooth hair lazily into the ribbon before using his wand to tie the perfect bow. "Did you just use magic outside of school Mr. Malfoy?" she teased as she turned around gingerly touching the bow.

"Hey! I've been 17 for three days now," he replied, twirling his wand expertly between his fingers.

"You're such a baby!"

"Oi! And how old are you missy? Twelve?"

Lily crossed her arms in front of her. "I'll be sixteen in two weeks."

Scopius sighed and shook his head. "What flower will I choose next?" he contemplated.

They laughed and spent the next hour or so telling summer stories and discussing the various

Quidditch matches they had both attended. She was different somehow, he noticed. It wasn't her body (that had matured a few years ago) it was her face maybe? Was she wearing make up?

Scorpius continued to study her face as they chatted, picking out traces of mocha lining her eyes, bringing out the darker brown accents of her irises. Her cheeks were a healthy pink, and her lips were also a pale shade of pink. She looked so...alive! Maybe Al did have a reason to be protective of her...against other male students of course!

The sound of approaching footsteps jarred him from his thoughts. He and Lily instantly grinned at each other. At once their hands went up to ruffle their hair and each bit down on their lips, turning them a nice shade of red. Scorpius had just finished undoing his top few buttons when the door was pulled open.

"Lily are you-" a voice came. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know…didn't mean to interrupt," their visitor grumbled.

Lily bolted out of her seat."Wait, Carl come back!" she called after the brunette while attempting to tame her hair. "We thought you were Al," she explained as she dragged a very red-faced Gryffindor back into their car.

Carl turned out to be the very same disgruntled looking prefect Scorpius had seen outside of the train earlier. "People might start to get the wrong idea about you two," he said, staring disapprovingly between them. He was worse than Al!

Lily and Scorpius both laughed. "He's only got eyes for his broomstick."

"And she for chocolate frogs!" he recovered quickly.

Lily smacked him with her copy of the Daily Prophet. Scorpius feigned injury. Carl continued to look unamused, and Scorpius couldn't help but wonder what color stick was jammed up his -

"So you're still free to come to Hogsmeade with me then? We can check out that new tea shop that went in next to Puddifoot's," he said as he turned his back to Scorpius, completely shutting him out of the conversation.

It was a bright green stick, which slapped Scorpius in the face between each word of his date request. Part of Scorpius wanted to laugh at the bluntness of his request. Instead, he watched as Lily nodded and smiled her shy smile. Scorpius saw Carl's shoulders fall slightly in relief. "I'll see ya in the common room then. I'm on prefect patrol," he said smugly before turning to leave.

"Looks like you might have less time than you thought to figure out my favorite flower," Lily teased as she curled her legs beneath her on the seat.

"Carl? Really Lily, you can do better," Scorpius teased, while knowing inside what he spoke was the truth.

"What's wrong with Carl?" she asked.

"He's just all…Perfect and Prefecty…something's gotta give."

She laughed, fingering the silky flower petals lightly. "You're just jealous he'll guess my favorite

flower first," she teased as she unfurled the Prophet.

"I bet he doesn't even think to bring flowers on your first date," he challenged.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Until you came along, I thought flowers were only given in story books, or if they guy messed up…but you never cease to find an occasion that warrants flowers."

"Or chocolate frogs," he added.

"Speaking of…I know you have them somewhere. Hand them over," she demanded.

Scorpius laughed. "You better hope that Prefect-Face picked up on the chocolate frog comment or you might start going through withdrawals. Everyone knows you can't quit the frogs cold turkey."

Lily pouted as she accepted the box from Scorpius' hands. "And you better hope your first girlfriend is as much of a Quidditch enthusiast as I am," she joked.

Scorpius rolled his eyes as he watched her unwrap her first victim. He felt a bit bitter suddenly, a feeling which he blamed on the pompous air Prefect-Face had exhaled into their compartment. "I hear Olivia Nott has her eyes on you," Lily said, not looking up from the wizard card she was holding.

Scorpius sighed and swiped one of her frogs for himself. Olivia was one of his fellow Slytherins, a 6th year chaser. She was fairly attractive; dirty blonde hair, deep blue eyes, not overly muscular, good smile...but not Scorpius' type. His type was a bit...different. "I think Al has his eyes on her," he said quickly in hopes that the comment would put an end to their current conversation. Of all the things he and Lily talked about, boys and girls, crushes and romantic gossip were usually never among them.

"Gee Al really cramps your style when it comes to girls, doesn't he?" Lily teased, and Scorpius couldn't help but notice the tension creep back out of the compartment.

He just laughed lightly and went back to staring out of the window. Thankfully, Al reappeared a few minutes later, and Lily excused herself from their company. Apparently she had promised her twin cousins, Lucy and Molly Weasley, that she would spend the later half of the journey with them.

"It's finally our last year, huh?" Al mused as Scorpius changed into his school robes.

"Yeah, finally," he muttered back as he pulled his green tie up to his throat.

For some reason, those words came with a feeling of dread.

XxX

"So did you say yes?"

"Of course she did, Luce. She wouldn't be smiling if she hadn't," Molly said as she snapped the head off of the chocolate frog Lily have given to her.

"Just trying to be in the moment, Moll," Lucy responded as she pulled her legs more tightly to her chest.

"I knew he looked a bit...less rigid than usual at the prefect meeting today," Dominique chimed in.

"Well this has certainly made my news a bit anticlimactic," Lily pouted.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Lucy, punching her fist into the air above her.

Molly rolled her eyes into her darkly powdered lids. Lily laughed lightly at her cousins' responses. Predictably, Lucy played the excited "I can hardly contain myself" friend, Molly was complete opposite to her twin with the "Will everyone just calm down-whatever" persona, and Dominique the ever smooth and observant "I thought something was up" component. If Rose had been there, which she never seemed to be any more, she would have added the "Let's analyze this logically, piece by piece until we forget what the overall picture was" flavor. Last but not least, Roxanne would be the first to offer physical relationship advice and secretly slip lacy underwear into her satchel. Girl gab sessions with her Weasley cousins were always fun and helpful in one way or another.

"I should go soon," said Dominique as she glanced at her watch. "I don't want to be caught out of bed after hours on our first night back."

"Oh come on," Lucy said, "you're a prefect now. No one will say anything."

"Louis will," Dominique replied in a sing song voice as she grabbed her bag and shoes.

"Why does one of the twins in our family always have to be a downer?" Lucy grumbled, shooting a glare at her sister Molly.

She rolled her eyes. "It's called grasping reality, Luce."

Lily giggled, acknowledging that there was some truth in Lucy's comment. The Weasley family had two sets of twins: Lucy and Molly and Dominique and Louis, each having a personality that balanced out their twin's perfectly. Lucy and Molly, however, were a bit more extreme in this way than Dominique and Louis.

"I should probably head to bed as well," Lily said.

Lucy and Molly got up to show their cousins out of her dormitory. Lily turned left, heading up a flight of stairs to the 5th year Gryffindor girls' dormitory, while Dominique turned right to start the long journey back to the Ravenclaw common room for the night.

While being careful not to wake her two sleeping roommates, she lit her wand just enough to see a few feet in front of her. Yawning deeply, Lily quickly shucked her robes, exchanging them for her comfy pajamas. She placed her wand on her bedside table and shimmied under her scarlet comforter. Before laying her head on her beckoning pillow, she reached her hand behind her head to remove her pony tail. She was momentarily surprised to find the long satin bow instead of her usual brown elastic. She fingered the orange material with a sigh and placed it under her pillow before finally closing her eyes for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Lily's alarm clock charm woke her at precisely six in the morning, which was the earliest she had ever pulled herself out of bed in the history of Hogwarts. Naturally, her dormmates were shocked in their morning stupor when her golden curtains parted to reveal their "sleeping beauty."

"Shower's open, right?" she smiled cheerfully as she grabbed her plastic toiletry carrier from her trunk.

"Sure is," she heard Taylor say from across the room.

Lily left the room through the passage to their shared bathroom and heard Sarah's voice behind her whispering, "She does realize it's morning, right?"

She laughed to herself as she continued forward and slid her supplies into the nearest open shower. The mirrors were still coated with a layer of mist, signifying that her two roommates had just finished their own morning soaks. She undressed and quickly darted behind the tan shower curtain, just in case one of them had forgotten something.

Her cousins had grown used to this sudden change in her morning behavior. In fact, it had been influenced by her older cousin Roxanne. Lily had spent a week of her summer visiting her cousins Roxanne and Fred, and during that time Roxanne had taught her the benefits of getting up early and paying attention to your appearance in the morning.

She had never really bothered before and had always viewed waking up early as such a daunting task compared to the ever so easy one of sleeping. However, she was turning sixteen this year and had yet to have her first boyfriend, not to mention the fact that she didn't know the difference between a tube of mascara and a tube of lipstick. Roxanne had put an end to her ignorance by passing on some of the most basic, yet effective, beauty secrets which she herself had learned and put into practice at age fourteen. After a few weeks of forcing herself out of bed and a few showers spent sleepily washing her body with hair conditioner, she had grown used to her routine. Now, she actually liked getting up early enough to add some color to her face. It made her feel more confident and alive during the day.

Lily wrapped the red towel securely around her person before she stepped out from behind the curtain. She reached for her wand and quickly cast the charm which would make the scent of her vanilla shampoo last all day, followed by the slightly more complicated hair drying charm. After dressing for the day, she returned to the bathroom with her small collection of makeup and nearly empty bottle of perfume. She would have to remember to buy more of the stuff during the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend.

Taylor and Sarah were gone by the time she emerged from the bathroom. Lily grabbed her things and set off to satisfy her grumbling stomach. She loved the first day of classes. They were usually review sessions from previous years which meant an easy opportunity to earn early house points if you remembered your stuff. The homework was dull and repetitive, but better than the more complex essays they would be assigned later in the year.

And the food during their first week was always amazing, Lily mused as she inhaled deeply outside of the double oak doors of the Great Hall. She pulled them open dramatically and her eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of silver ones. Scorpius smiled at her and pointed to a plate of food across from him which Lily knew contained toast cut into hearts and scrambled eggs laying on a pile of golden hash brown potatoes. She of course was a fan of his selections, but not as much as Al. This breakfast tradition had started during her second year at Hogwarts and Scorpius had slowly expanded it to encompass all of Al's favorite breakfast selections, right down to the glass of cinnamon apple juice.

She was halfway to the Slytherin table when someone popped up in front of her, obstructing her view of her final destination. Lily blushed when she recognized the toothy smile of Carl Wood. "Sit with me today?" he asked, grasping her forearm lightly.

She craned her neck around his shoulder and watched as Scorpius waved his hands as if to say 'Don't worry about it.' Lily laughed as she saw her brother pounce on her rejected plate. "Something funny?" Carl asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Lily shook her head and quickly sat down next to him. "My brother acts like a hungry lion sometimes. If only he was brave enough to be in Gryffindor," she mused as she glanced down at her empty plate.

She sighed as she looked at the trays of breakfast selections. Somehow, Scorpius had always managed to produce food that wasn't on the menu. "Scrambled or sunny side up?" Carl asked as he grabbed her plate from her.

"Oh what the heck, sunny side up sounds great," she said. "Add a waffle while you're at it."

Carl laughed lightly as he put the requested items onto her plate. "Strawberries?" he asked, dangling a ladle of red sauce over her waffle.

Lily nodded and watched as he allowed the ladle to tip over her place. "What classes are you starting with today?" he asked as he grabbed a few more sausage links and pancakes for himself.

She pulled her crisp schedule out of her bag and tried to focus her eyes on 'Monday.' "Looks like I've got double Charms, followed by Dark Arts and Muggle Studies in the afternoon."

"Still taking Muggle Studies then?"

Lily nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of strawberry waffle. "I decided to pick it up again; I think it's interesting. You dropped then, I'm assuming?"

Carl nodded, his long bangs falling into his eyes. She resisted the urge to brush them away and instead busied herself with dipping toast into the mutilated yellow centers of her eggs. "The required two years were enough for me. I decided to replace it with Divination third year."

"Oh dear, I hated that class. Dropped it after one year. Would have done it after the first month if McGonagall would have let me," Lily commented.

"I'm not too fond of it either," Carl admitted.

"Then why continue with it?"

"Trelawney makes a mean cup of tea," Carl smiled.

Lily laughed into her pumpkin juice. She felt her cheeks redden as Carl held out a napkin for her. "You look different this year," he stated as his eyes ran over her face.

She tried to control her temperature. "Roxy taught me a few things," she admitted as she blotted her tie dry.

"You look nice," he smiled.

The ten minute warning bell rang just as his hand was approaching her cheek. He jerked it away suddenly as their house mates stood to leave for class.

Lily smiled again as she stood up. Carl picked up her bag and placed it onto her shoulder. "You said you had Charms, right?"

She nodded as she untwisted the strap. "I'm headed up to Transfiguration. I'll walk you there," he offered.

Lily nodded as she turned to leave the Great Hall with him. "I'd like that," she said with a smile.

XxX

Al shot Scorpius another smirk as they parted ways after double potions. He had relentlessly gloated all morning that Lily had finally turned him down. Also, he had just enjoyed the best tasting breakfast of his life. He had described it to Scorpius as eating the forbidden fruit. Scorpius had laughed until Al had finished his monologue by saying that Lily was crazy to turn it down.

He had been in a sour mood since.

He later decided it was because he was annoyed that Al was so calm about another guy taking an interest with his sister. He was always so against any display Scorpius had shown towards Lily, even though they were all in good fun and never serious. If Al was going to be protective, it was only fair that everyone had to feel his wrath. He had plenty of practice taking it out on Scorpius over the years.

Perhaps Al hadn't noticed Carl's real interest in his sister. He was blind then, Scorpius mused. Prefect-face had been eyeing Lily since the end of last year. He had watched as the Gryffindor scanned the Great Hall for her at each meal. He had watched as they exchanged brief comments in the corridors and by the lake. He had also noticed the hug that had almost turned into a kiss at the Quidditch final between Gryffindor and Slytherin last year if he himself hadn't pulled Lily away into a congratulatory hug

Was he jealous? No, absolutely not. He was merely…concerned. He hardly knew this Carl bloke, but as he told Lily on the train, there was something off about him. Scorpius could feel it.

He dropped his bag noisily onto the floor next to him and slouched backwards into his chair.

"Did you sleep walk to the wrong classroom or something?" a familiar voice asked.

He peeled his hands away from his face to see a brilliant pair of hazel eyes smiling at him. "Muggle studies, fourth rotation?" he asked.

Lily nodded as she sat in the seat next to him. "Decided to pick it back up then huh?" she asked as she pulled out a blank book of parchment and a quill.

He nodded, admiring the eagle feathered quill he had bought her for Christmas last year. "The ink still holding up in that thing?"

She nodded. "I have yet to refill it. This thing is seriously great, thanks," she said as she swept her hair over her right shoulder.

"Yes well that quill was all Al could talk about last year, so I figured it would be the perfect thing to get you."

Lily laughed and shook her head. "You really know how to get under his skin, don't you?"

"Wouldn't be his best friend if I didn't."

They laughed together as the classroom slowly began to fill with students. This was a 'mixed' class, containing students of all ages from every house. Muggle studies was one of the few classes that a student could add to their schedule at any time at Hogwarts. After the last war it became a required class in the curriculum for the first two years, after which it became optional to continue. Many students dropped the course in favor of new material, like Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, but they all knew they were welcome to pick up where they had left off. Scorpius had taken a few years away from the subject before he picked it up this term. Lily had done the same apparently.

He listened to their teacher, Professor Jones, carefully. He had forgotten some of the topics she was now rapidly reviewing with them. He glanced over at Lily once or twice to find that she was lazily taking notes, clearly remembering more than he did. Although to be fair, he had been away from the subject for a much longer time than she had.

The class ended with the issuing of their first homework assignment: a one foot essay in which they were to describe the impact of the internet on communication. Scorpius sighed as he packed away his things. Lily smiled lightly at him. "I hope you know you're going to be helping me with these essays. The only form of muggle communication I know of is the tellatone."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes as they left the classroom together. "It's the telephone Scor," she corrected him.

He smiled at her use of his nickname. "I know I know, just wanted to see if you were paying attention."

"We could start on it now if you'd like. There's still an hour till dinner, and this won't take more than half of that. Besides, I could use some help reviewing for the pop quiz I know McGonagall is going to give during Transfiguration tomorrow," she suggested, steering them towards the library.

Scorpius sighed and shook his head. "Rain check Lils, I have a feeling you will be occupied."

Lily looked at him quizzically before Prefect-face tapped her on the shoulder to say hello. "We'll do it another time," he said as he turned to walk away.

"So you need help with Transfiguration, Lils?" he heard Prefect-face ask as he walked away.__


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey," came a voice suddenly from next to her.

Lily gasped in shock. "Merlin Carl! Didn't your mum ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on witch while she is studying the vampire wars of 7th century?"

Carl laughed warmly as Lily placed a marker in the book she was reading. "That was my favorite unit in H.O.M.," he said, using the common acronym for History of Magic.

"Yeah it's pretty neat. I'm actually looking forward to writing the essay," Lily replied.

"Which argument are you going to make?" he asked as he glanced at her notes.

Lily thought for a minute. "I'm not sure yet. There is so much material supporting the existence of the war, but I think it would be more fun to argue that it was made up."

"If you dig around a bit in the restricted section you can find more support," Carl suggested.

Lily nodded. "Binns said he'd sign slips for us."

She followed Carl's gaze out of the common room window. "Looks like a nice day," she commented.

"Fancy throwing a quaffle around for a bit?" he asked. "Trials are coming up."

Lily groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Oh come on, like you won't make it."

"I haven't been on my broom for at least a month and half," she admitted as she did the math in her head.

"All the more reason," Carl said as he grabbed her hand to pull her out of her chair. "I'll meet you outside of the Great Hall in fifteen."

Lily smiled as he walked away towards the boys' dormitories. She locked eyes with Lucy across the room who sent her a knowing smile. "You trying out this year?" she called.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Lucy smiled as she stared down at what was most likely a potions essay.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know you were listening."

"Were _you_? I'm pretty sure you were just invited to a one-on-one practice session," her cousin said.

Lily blushed as she gathered her things into her arms and began walking to her room. "Wear your green tank; it makes your eyes look brighter," she called after her.

XxX

Fifteen minutes later, Lily turned the corner to the Great Hall, broomstick in hand. She saw Carl's face light up into a genuine smile as she approached him. He had his Meteorstrike 7 slung over his shoulder and she could see the light outlines of his arm muscles. She wasn't the only one who had started taking care of bodily image over the summer.

"Still sporting the old Firebolt series?" he asked as she arrived at his side.

"There is nothing wrong with my broom!" she fired back quickly as they walked out onto the Hogwarts grounds.

Lily was immediately glad she had accepted Carl's invitation. It was still fairly warm for September and the breeze coming off of the lake felt fantastic. Being up on a broom in this weather would be absolutely perfect and a refreshing change from the stale common room air.

Carl suddenly threw her a grin. "Race you for a warm up?"

He made no move to saddle onto his broom. Lily jumped up and down a few times as a mock warm up. "Ready when you are!"

And they set off running towards the field. Thank Merlin for sweat control spells, Lily mused as she felt the heat instantly intensify with each step she took towards the blazing sun. He ran beside her for a bit before Lily sent him a grin and sprinted ahead of him. She looked back to see a look of surprise on his face. She laughed as she stumbled to a halt in front of the player's entrance to the pitch.

"James and Al always kept me on the run as a kid," she explained as she caught her breath. "Shall we?"

Carl nodded as he brushed his bangs out of his face. "Nate said the storage closet should be open for us," he said as he headed off between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw stands.

Nathan Finnegan was their captain of two years and was very serious about his players getting as much practice time as they could ever want during the school year. He, along with their previous captain and the captain of the Holyhead Harpies (a professional Quidditch team) devised a set of spells which would make the pitch safe to use without supervision of the flying instructor or game keeper. Only those registered on the Quidditch team, or in this case the tryout roster, were allowed through the invisible barrier. The field was armed with alarm spells that would notify the proper people in the case of an accident or improper behavior. So far, there hadn't been any need for such spells.

"Let's go Potter," Carl shouted from above her as he dropped the red ball down to her.

She caught it with one hand and quickly mounted her Firebolt. It was business time, she told herself. Carl may have take her out here for some 'one-on-one' time as Lucy had called it, but she was in serious need of some practice time. She flew up to a comfortable level and tossed the quaffle from hand to hand, trying to get a feel for the familiar object again. Below her, Carl started flying in one of the formations they had been practicing at the end of the last season. She quickly got into her flight pattern and they began passing the quaffle back and forth at the designated exchange points.

They ran a few more familiar passing drills, gaining speed and height contrast as they went, before Lily decided she wanted to try the scoring drills. It was hard to believe that she had gone almost all summer without playing in the field near her grandparent's house. It took her a few attempts to get her aim back, but after she got going, it was impossible for her to stop.

"It's a good thing you're not going out for keeper," Lily teased Carl as they changed positions on the field.

"Would you believe me if I said I was going easy on you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I've seen you try to fill in for Hugo before," she said.

"Like you'd be any better," he challenged, throwing the quaffle above his head a few times.

Lily grinned. She may not have been on the field practicing herself, but she had been in attendance for quite a few league games over the summer, including the World Cup. She alternated – every other game – between watching the chasers and the keepers. She had picked up on a few keeper tricks, and tried to figure out ways to get around them. She had also watched the any signals that the chasers absentmindedly gave before they did certain maneuvers so she could avoid making the same mistakes. Carl would be a great 'reading' practice for her.

She was absolutely correct in her previous assumption. Carl was displayed many of the facial expressions and body movements as the professionals did before attempting to score on her, and she meant this in the most admirable way. Making the same mistakes as professionals wasn't half bad, but Carl did have a few extra issues that Lily tuned in to.

"Don't bring your left arm back so far when you are going for lefty goals," she called out to him. "It gives the other team a better opportunity to steal from you."

She shouted similar advice to him throughout the remainder of their little practice session before he decided to call it quits. "I've got a potions essay to work on with Derrick," he said, referring to a fellow Gryffindor.

She nodded as they landed smoothly on the pitch. They walked up to the castle in silence. For some reason, this bothered Lily. Was she too hard on him during practice? Maybe perhaps he was just tired or distracted by the looming essay. Just to be sure... "Sorry if I sounded like I was nitpicking you a bit today," she said offering him an apologetic smile.

He turned to her, brushing his brown hair once again out of his eyes. They seemed to be an even brighter shade of blue than usual. "Don't worry about it. I should be thanking you really. It's nice to train with someone who plays the same position."

Lily laughed. "Just checking, you seem a bit distracted," she pressed, now genuinely curious as to the cause of his silence.

Carl laughed nervously as they entered into the welcoming shade of the castle. "I was just wondering if you would still want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend. I mean, I know it's your birthday and everything, so I would understand if you had other plans," he said nervously.

For some reason Lily found his hesitation rather endearing. Even so, she still had to hesitate for a moment. She usually spent her birthday with her cousins, and then later on with Scorpius...but what the heck! She didn't want to ruin this (whatever this was) between her and Carl. "Yeah, I'd really like to," she replied with a smile.

Carl smiled back. "So it's a date then?"

Lily nodded. "It most definitely is."

His face cracked into a huge smile. "Brilliant. I'll see you later in the common room then, yeah?"

She nodded again as he slipped into the Great Hall for dinner. Deciding she was in desperate need of a shower (and some girl time with her cousins before dinner!) she went in the opposite direction towards the main staircase. She, Lily Luna Potter, had just been asked on her first date! Well, her first real official date. Scorpius had asked her out jokingly countless times, but this one was real! A real date, on her birthday no less! She could hardly keep her legs from skipping as she drew closer to the secret passage way connecting the second floor to the fifth floor.

XxX

Scorpius groaned as his stomach growled for the um-teenth time since he started his Ancient Runes essay. He was lucky the library was empty, although Madame Greengrass was still shooting him warning glares from her desk, like he could really control his body's natural reactions to hunger. Well, he could actually, but that would require moving from the library and distracting himself once again from his barely started essay on the evolution of the ancient number systems.

The previous distraction had ended a few minutes ago and was also one he could not help. Well, okay maybe he could have moved to a table or chair not facing the Quidditch pitch, but he hadn't feel like it, especially after he realized that one of the flyers was Lily. He had actually scooted his chair closer to the window after a few minutes to watch.

She was brilliant in the air and had made every single shot she attempted on Prefect-Face – or at least he assumed it was Prefect-Face she was with. Scorpius hoped that he wasn't going for the position of keeper...or maybe he did; it would mean an easy victory for Slytherin this year. He smiled to himself, suddenly very eager for the season to start. He was holding tryouts next Thursday, although he already had a rough mental line up of his new team.

He watched as they swapped positions. If he was staring before, he was transfixed now. Where had she learned to react like that? She was like one of those muggle characters – what were they called? Oh yeah, ninjas. She was a redheaded ninja on a broomstick. Too bad she had been sorted into the lion den, he mused. She was exactly what his team needed this year – a switch hitter of sorts.

Scorpius shook himself out of his mental replay of their practice. It was essay time. His stomach growled a tremendous growl, which sounded distinctly like, 'Feed me or I swear you'll die." Not wanting to tempt his organs, he packed up his bag and smiled politely at the very relieved looking librarian.

He strolled into the Great Hall and immediately spotted Lily amongst the sparse crowd. He made a beeline for the Gryffindor table and plopped down next to her. Lily turned to smile at him immediately as she placed her fork down on her half empty plate. "He's alive!" she joked after she swallowed whatever had been in her mouth.

He gazed at her questioningly. "Al told me about your little...er...mishap in potions the other day," she said.

Scorpius scowled. "That was totally Al's fault. I also bet he didn't add the fact that it was him who squeaked louder than a kitchen mouse and leaped onto his stool."

"I would too if my potion was flooding the dungeon floor," Lily smirked.

"It was not flooding," he said, pinching his nose with his thumb and index finger. "This is how it happened, okay?"

Lily nodded, and he could tell she was biting back a huge smile. "Al was being incompetent in potions as usual," he started, "and he chopped the rat liver instead of slicing it -"

"There's a difference?"

"Of course there's a bloody difference!" he said as he slapped a slice of ham onto his place.

He took up his knife and delicately drew it through the meat, cutting it cleanly in half. "See? Slicing..."

He then brutally stabbed the knife in every direction while pulling simultaneously, leaving the meat in a pile of uneven, somewhat still connected chunks. "And chopping," he said, ignoring the fearful glances from the group of second year girls at the Ravenclaw table.

"I see," Lily said, still holding back her laughter.

"Anyway, your brother is an idiot and threw the mess into our cauldron which caused it to instantly turn acidic. The bottom of the thing started to disintegrate. Luckily, he alerted me by jumping onto the stool and I was able to vanish the mess before it reached my lovely new trainers," he said, motioning to his spotless black and white Converse shoes.

Lily shook her head as he loaded some mashed potatoes on top of his mutilated ham. "Well thank you for setting that straight for me."

"Any time," Scorpius laughed, pushing his ill feelings behind him.

Lily was silent for a moment before she hesitantly asked, "Any chance you could whip me up some of that chocolate mousse after the main course?"

He laughed and took a swig of pumpkin juice. "You're hardly done with your green beans, Miss Potter."

She stuck her tongue out at him and speared some of the beans onto her fork. "Seems like you worked up an appetite with you Quidditch practice today," he commented, turning his attention back to his plate.

"How did...the library!" she said suddenly. "You were spying from the library windows!"

"Seems like you are no stranger to that scene," he commented.

She blushed. "I've got to know what my competition is like during the season, haven't I?" she tried to defend.

"As do I," he replied.

"So, what did you think?" she asked nervously.

"I think you should let Prefect-Face be your keeper this season," he laughed, unable to resist the temptation.

She glared at him. "Be nice! He has a name you know," she said pointedly.

"Yeah yeah, it's Carl I know," he said quickly. "But, it doesn't really matter who gets put on your team, Slytherin is going to destroy you this year."

"I highly doubt that," Lily said smugly.

"I could tell you were a bit rusty today, just from the bit I saw," he said.

She gaped at him. This was only partially true. For one thing, he had watched for more than just a bit, and she was only a teensy-weensey bit rusty. "Your pivot turns are predictable, and your shots through the left hoop are only barely high enough," he commented.

Lily sighed as she swallowed the last bit of her dinner. "I suppose I'll just have to go for keeper then."

"No!" Scorpius shouted instantly.

She laughed. "Scared now?"

"I lied, your chasing skills are more than superb. No need to try something new," he covered. If she switched, he was doomed. It would take some serious training to work his chasers up to her level of keeping.

"Well thanks for the advice anyway. I guess we'll see where I end up on the field during our first match."

"Chocolate mousse?" he asked sweetly, conjuring a frosted champagne flute filled with fluffy chocolate.

"Bribing me?"

"Maybe," he laughed. "Or poisoning."

She threw her head back with laughter, something he knew she only did when she was in an especially good mood. "Like that would stop me from eating this piece of heaven," she said as she plunged her spoon into the glass.

Scorpius felt his ears redden slightly as he watched her lick the silver utensil clean. "Want some?" she offered, holding a spoonful out for him.

He ate what she offered and watched as her cheeks turned red this time. She looked away as she enjoyed her next few bites in silence. "Ready," she asked as she put the glass gently down on the table, still refusing to meet his gaze.

Scorpius stood up and they walked together out of the Hall. "Your birthday is coming up next weekend, right?" he asked, trying to break their silence.

She winced. "I'm actually going to Hogsmeade with Carl. I, well I figured you wouldn't..." she trailed off, staring at a spot on the wall over his shoulder.

"Figured I wouldn't mind?" he finished for her.

She nodded. "Which I don't," he said quickly, waving a hand in front of him.

"I could meet up with you in Zonko's or something at some point," she offered awkwardly.

Scorpius sighed. "No no, this sounds like a date Lils. I'd hate to be the third wheel."

She smiled weakly at him. "I'll catch you after though, you know, to see if you guessed my flower right finally."

Scorpius suddenly felt annoyed. "I think I'll leave the flowers up to Carl from now on," he said, rather sharply. "I'll see you in Muggle Studies on Monday."

He turned down the corridor to the dungeons, leaving Lily to walk alone back to Gryffindor Tower. He walked straight through the common room and into his room, where he plopped down on his green sheets and pulled his curtains shut around his four poster.

He instantly felt bad for snapping at Lily in the entrance hall. She didn't deserve it, and he wasn't quite sure why he had. He suddenly had the urge to punch something, or someone. Specifically someone with brown hair and obnoxious blue eyes. He held his breath and counted to ten while he unclenched his fists slowly. He was just worried for her. It was only natural for him to feel protective of his best friend's sister, right?

Scorpius scowled as he pulled himself under his covers and buried his face into his pillow. He fell asleep there, without even bothering to change.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Scorpius couldn't help but smirk to himself as he saw the white lily behind Carl's back. Could the guy be any less original? A lily for Lily, come on. He watched, amused, as Prefect-face drew the flower from behind his back and offered it to Lily. Her face, instead of wrinkling in distaste as it had done when Scorpius had presented her with the same flower three years ago, brightened into a smile. His mood deflated instantly as they shared a few words and Lily turned for him to tuck the flower into her loose up-do.

"C'mon, Rox got us a carriage," Al said walking up behind him.

Scorpius turned quickly and walked to the carriage Al was pointing at. After plowing through the line of anxious third years waiting for final clearance for their first trip to the wizarding village, he was able to pull open the tiny carriage door. A girl with long dark brown hair flashed him a classic Slytherin smile. "Where've you been hiding Rox?" he greeted Al's younger cousin as he slid into the seat across from her.

She shrugged as her cousin claimed the seat next to her. "Are we expecting anyone else?" she asked, ignoring Scorpius' question.

Al shook his head. "Lily had other plans today."

"Is that so?" Roxanne replied. Scorpius could have sworn he saw her eyebrows rise slightly at him as she smiled her knowing smile. "Full steam ahead," she joked as she thumped her hand against the side of the carriage through the open window.

And so their Hogsmeade outing began as all of the others had, except their quartet had been reduced to a trio. They chatted idly about classes and Roxanne provided the latest and juiciest Slytherin gossip that left Scorpius amazed that so much could happen in the brief time span of two weeks...and that such a petite body could have such large ears.

XxX

"Ugh, Malfoy put those back!" Roxanne complained as she snatched the black licorice snaps out of their basket.

"But we always get them!" he quickly retorted.

"You and Lily are the only ones who can stand to eat those things, but she's not here and I doubt you could manage the whole package by yourself before they jump away," she said as she placed her hand on his to stop him from grabbing the box again.

"Fine," Scorpius grumbled as he jerked his hand from hers. "Quidditch shop next?"

Roxanne sent him a pointed glare. Oh right, he realized, Lily was _the_ _only_ other Quidditch enthusiast in their little group. Roxanne held out her hand for his monetary contribution for sweets and he sighed as he forked over a few sickles.

Lily dat- _hanging out with_ – Car – _Prefec_t_-Face_ – was quickly becoming a huge problem.

Scorpius signaled to Al that he would be waiting outside for them; Honeydukes was quickly becoming overcrowded with students looking for an afternoon sugar pick-me-up. Of course, his exit was timed perfectly to see Lily blush as Prefect-Face grabbed her hand to lead her inside of the new intimate tea shop across the road.

The guy seemed to be pretty smooth in the...dating...realm so far, Scorpius noticed. Just how experienced was he? Suddenly, a whole new set questions and...concerns flooded his already uneasy mind. He hadn't even known the guy had existed before the Quidditch final match last year, which was probably a good thing. If Roxanne hadn't been gossiping about him, he obviously wasn't a notorious 'bad boy' or anything.

Scorpius snorted at the thought. That kid? A great wooer of women? Hardly. Maybe he could see why _some _girls would find him...easy on the eyes, but he wasn't anything _too_ special. His hair was a normal medium brown and, honestly, Scorpius found it quite annoying that he dramatically swept it out of his eyes several times during a conversation with Lily. His body was average. He was shorter than usual, and his physique suggested an uneven and rushed workout routine. His bright, baby blue eyes were probably the selling point of the whole package.

What was an average Joe like that doing with Lily?

If he were to describe Lily – temporarily stepping out of his role as her good friend and brother's best friend of course – the word gorgeous would probably be appropriate. She was about a head shorter than Scorpius with a thin muscular, yet feminine, build. Her wavy dark auburn hair had fluctuated over the years he'd known her from elbow to shoulder length (though he preferred it when she kept it longer). Her eyes seemed to change color from time to time. Some days, he would swear on his magic that they were a very pale green, while on others they seemed to be a deep honey-brown hue.

But, as her brother's best friend, he was only aloud to think of her as looking "Lily-like." No further elaborations on the touchable qualities of her hair or the alluring bounce in her steps were allowed. She could only be Lily to him, he thought as he watched through the tea shop window as she bit her bottom lip and tried to choose a flavor of tea, or perhaps a sweet treat.

"I should probably thank you," Al said appearing suddenly at Scorpius' side.

"For what?" Scorpius asked as he kicked a stone harshly across the road to help diffuse his thoughts.

"I know this whole charade between you and Lily over the years has been used mostly to annoy me, but I'm glad you knew when to stop it."

Scorpius 'hhmphed' in response and Al continued. "You know, sometimes I had to really think to make sure you two weren't really a thing. There were so many times when I thought, 'This could be it, this could be the year,' you know, because you've been becoming better and better friends and all. And after this past summer, after you wrote her so many letters she wouldn't let me read, and suddenly she starts wearing makeup and acting like a girl, I thought that maybe…you know…"

Scorpius forced himself to laugh. "Nah, it's only ever been in good fun. We both knew it all along," he said as they walked a bit down the road to get out of the way of students trying to enter the store.

"Still, thanks for letting things happen naturally between her and Carl. I'd hate to see your friendship ruined because you didn't know when to let a prank go," Al said.

"I'd hate for that to happen," he smiled fakely, trying not to grit his teeth too hard.

"I'm starved," Roxanne said as she tucked their sweets into her handbag. "Time for a Butterbeer and lunch?" she asked the pair.

Scorpius nodded as he jammed his hands into his pockets. "You and Scor go ahead. I have to….ahhh…catch up on a few things," Al said nervously.

"I see," Roxanne said, watching as her cousin draw his hand through his unruly hair (the signature Potter nervous tick).

"Well let's go then," Scorpius said impatiently after no one made a move to continue on.

Roxanne cooled her searching gaze over Al as she turned to him. "Have fun guys!" Al said, sounding somewhat relieved.

Scorpius began walking next to Roxanne, and noticed that a smile was slowly creeping across her face. "Say hi to Olivia for me!" she called suddenly over her shoulder.

Scorpius couldn't help but look back at the shocked look on Al's face as they walked away. "So Al and Olivia, huh?" he chuckled lightly.

"You had to have seen it coming," Roxanne said as she pulled the door to the Three Broomsticks open for him.

"How could anyone have seen that coming?" he asked slightly bewildered as they grabbed their usual table in the back corner.

Roxanne rolled her golden eyes. "Honestly, do boys talk at all? Do you see anything that goes on around you?" she asked dramatically.

"What I meant was, well…Olivia is attractive, and Al is…well Al is Al," he explained as a menu popped up on the table in front of him.

"Yes well, the new romances at Hogwarts have been a bit surprising this year, have then not?" she asked from over the top of her menu.

Scorpius knew she was smirking again, even though he couldn't see her pearly whites hidden behind the dusty menu. "Tell me then, Miss Obvervant," he teased. "Who will be the next victims of the rose colored glasses of love?"

"I was actually hoping you'd be able to help me with that," she said.

Her response caught him slightly off-guard. Roxanne was a Slytherin, but she wasn't usually one to scheme. Unless, perhaps she meant –

"A butterbeer and Saturday's special with wheat bread – not white – please," Roxanne smiled at the weekend waitress.

"And for you?"

Momentarily ignoring his thoughts, Scorpius rattled off the first dish that caught his eye. "I'll have a butterbeer and the Shepard's pie, thanks."

"So where were we?" Roxanne smiled, "ah yes, Lily's birthday."

He nodded, not about to bring up where they had really left off, fearing to know what her suggestion had really meant. "I have yet to get her a gift, have you?" she asked as their meals and butterbeers appeared before them.

"Nah," Scorpius shook his head, pausing to sip the foam off of the rim of his mug. "That was mostly just something to bug Al. Thought I'd save a few galleons this year, and the space at the bottom of her school trunk."

Roxanne shot him a curious glance. "Lily always loved your gifts."

He laughed. "They are always so ridiculous though!" he said remembering the various birthday gifts he had given to her in the past as he took a few bites of his food.

"I actually think that's why she liked them so much," Roxanne commented as she put her sandwich down. "She wore that obnoxious fluffy purple winter hat nearly every day during our family trip to New York last winter."

He stopped to consider (and picture) what Roxanne had just said. Come to think of it, she had worn the anklet covered in tiny golden bells quite often during the spring time. Hadn't she also just last week worn the emerald vine earrings he had given her on her birthday two years past?

"It's different now that she's seeing that guy," he said after a pause, using the conversation he had just had with Al outside of Honeydukes as inspiration. "I'd just get in the way by giving her expensive things."

They spent a few minutes in silence as they quickly inhaled the rest of their meals. "Want to help me pick one out for her? Nothing expensive though, us Weasley's don't have galleon trees in our backyards," she joked as she finished off her butterbeer.

He nodded. "Great, meet me outside in a few. I need to use the ladies room," she said as she reached for her handbag.

"It's okay, I got this one," he said, feeling generous at the moment.

She smiled as she stood up. "Thanks, guess I'm a pretty cheap date, huh?" she teased after glancing at their tab.

Scorpius sighed inwardly as he picked up the check, thinking about her last comment. Roxanne was pretty, wasn't she? Her hair was smooth and long, and she had the whole tall model look going for her. Her eyes were piercing, somewhat scarily so, but it was also a strangely intense feeling to be studied by them. She had a sense of humor and was very clever in both her studies and social life. They could have chemistry…right?

He dropped some silver and bronze onto the table and shook himself out of his thoughts before he finally left the pub.

"Ready?" Roxanne asked when he walked out, offering her arm to him.

He made the split second decision to embrace his experimental side and slung his arm through hers. Roxanne chatted with him lightly as they glanced through various shop windows, trying to decide which shop would most likely be the home of the perfect birthday gift for Lily. Scorpius was much too concerned with other things to really pay attention to what his companion was saying, namely the way her hand kept sliding lower and lower on his arm. He nearly choked on his own saliva as he felt her fingers gently twine between his. When she shot him a curious glance, he tried to pass it off as a cough, stating that the woman they had just squeezed past was wearing too much perfume.

"Perfume!" Roxanne gasped, bringing her free hand up to hit her head. "This way!" she said as she tugged on his hand through the thankfully still thick crowd.

She let go of his hand as they reached 'Fantasy in a Bottle,' the perfumeria of Hogsmeade. Scorpius took a deep breath before entering the shop, knowing from many a shopping trip with his mother that these sorts of places should offer complementary gas masks. However, when he entered he was pleasantly surprised to smell untainted air. Roxanne laughed at his expression. "It's charmed so inside of the shop only the sprayer of the perfume can smell it. It ensures the customer smells the fragrance in its purest form."

Roxanne made a bee-line for the back of the store, and Scorpius followed slowly behind her. He watched as she plucked an elegant silver bottle off of the shelf and gave it a quick squirt. "Mmm…here you try," she said, holding the bottle out to him.

He hesitantly grabbed the bottle and immediately noticed it was different from the others. For one thing, it didn't have a name or any logo on its surface at all. Secondly, instead of just being silver Scorpius noticed that it was actually a reflective surface, just like a mirror. He depressed his finger and heard the faint 'spritz' before he inhaled deeply.

"What do you smell?" Roxanne asked eagerly.

He took a few more whiffs of the scent. It was light with hints of vanilla, strawberries, and floral scents. "I can't really pick out one thing," he said after a minute. "It's like a blend of different things."

Roxanne's smile widened. "Why, what do you smell?" he asked suddenly as Roxanne snatched the bottle back from him.

"Oh, I smell a special blend as well, but not the same one as you," she said as she walked up to the counter to pay.

"What do you mean?" he asked, suddenly confused.

"I forget exactly how it works," she said, handing over a galleon to the witch behind the counter. "But Lily knows, ask her sometime."

Then it hit him. "Lily," he said softly. "It smells like the perfume she always wears."

It made sense then; this was a gift for Lily. She must wear the scent often then and that's why he associated it with her. He stole a glance at the box the witch had put the bottle into. 'Erised,' was written in white flowing script against the silver of the box.

They exited the shop, and to Scorpius' relief Roxanne used the hand between them to carry her gift for Lily. As they walked, he tried to work out how the perfume might work. How was it possible that one substance could smell different to each person? Perhaps it affected men and women differently? Or maybe the wearer could choose what it would smell like? But Lily hadn't been there, so why had he smelled her unique scent? And if Roxanne wore the same perfume, then why couldn't he smell it right now?

He kicked another stone down the path and sighed. "Time to go?" Roxanne asked, looking at him with a concerned expression.

"I think so, if you don't mind," he said as he looked over at her.

His eyes were suddenly drawn to the shop window across the street. He began walking towards it. "Hey, carriages are this way!" he heard Roxanne call after him.

"I'll just be a minute, wait there!" he called back, not breaking his eyes from the store.

He pulled open the heavy oak door and heard the light tinkling of a bell overhead. His feet guided him over to the window display. An old witch was suddenly at his side, reaching for the object he had been about to reach for. "It seems this has been waiting for you," she said as she held the shimmering gold chain at his eye level with shaking hands.

He watched, transfixed, as it glittered mysteriously in the soft lights. Wordlessly, he stretched out his hand to gently finger the pendant hanging from it. It was shaped like a shield, a deep purple oval amethyst in the center, surrounded on each side by tiny diamonds, and to the top and bottom with an intricate leaf. There was a hinge on the left side, he noticed, but when he tried to open it, the witch stopped him. "It will not open for you," she said softly before turning to walk slowly to the counter.

Scorpius followed her silently and watched a she placed it carefully into a black velvet box. "How much?" he asked breathlessly, prompted to speak by the sharp snap of the lid.

"You cannot put a price on items such as these."

Scorpius frowned. "But then why have it here at all? Why box it up for me then?" he asked, suddenly angry. "It's mine!"

She looked at him, unsurprised. "It's yours?" she asked.

"Yes, it is," he said confidently, holding his hand out for the box without further hesitation.

She smiled at him as she placed the treasure into his hands. "Then it must be so," she said.

Scorpius turned and left the store. He carefully slid the box into an inside pocket of his robes, securing it with an anti-theft charm for good measure. "What in Merlin's name was that about?" Roxanne asked as he walked over to her.

"I…I'm not really sure," he admitted, for the first time feeling a bit scared of what had just transpired.

Roxanne studied him for a long minute. "You are a strange kid Malfoy," she said finally. "Let's get going."

Scorpius nodded and followed her back to the carriages.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You got a minute?"

Lily looked up from her text book to see her cousin Roxanne sliding into the chair across from her. "Hey Rox!" she said softly with a smile.

She watched as her cousin withdrew a small box from her robes slid it across the table to her. "Happy belated birthday, cuz," she smiled.

Lily smiled as she reached out for the box. "You didn't have to."

"I was going to give it to you on Saturday, but was threatened by Luce that she would use the bat-bogey hex on me if I interrupted your little date in any way shape or form," she smiled as Lily began ripping off the green gift wrap.

"Oh this is perfect! I was just running out!" she exclaimed as she realized what was in the small silver box.

"I figured you'd run out just a bit after I did."

Lily laughed. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since before the Quidditch trials," she accused.

Roxanne laughed quietly as she cast a muffliato spell around their table. "Well if you'd told me you were moving into the library, maybe I would have found you sooner," Roxanne teased.

Lily squirmed under her cousin's searching gaze. The truth was she had been hiding out in the library for a few reasons. One was to avoid Lucy's unending questions about Carl. Secondly, she and Carl had started meeting there a few nights a week so he could help her with Transfiguration. And thirdly, although she hated to admit it, because she was waiting for Scorpius to turn up. She knew he frequently sought after the solitude of the library and she had hoped that he'd come over to say hi or something. They hadn't spoken since the week before her birthday and she missed their interaction, though she was too nervous to seek him out about it for some reason.

"OWLs this year," she said after a few moments.

Roxanne shook her head. "You two sound exactly alike."

"Oi! Rose and I sound nothing alike!"

"Not Rosie, silly. You and Scorpius. He used the NEWTs as an excuse for not showing his stupid face as well," Roxanne explained.

"He hasn't been up here all week," Lily said before she could stop herself.

Her cousin smiled. "You guys haven't been talking," she stated.

"How-?" Lily asked, confused.

"Just because you ditch out doesn't mean our Hogsmeade group crumbles to dust," Roxanne said.

Lily nodded. Of course, Scorpius, Roxanne, and her brother were all good friends even when she wasn't with them. Slytherin bonds were strong. "How has he been?" she asked awkwardly.

"Meh," Roxanne started. "He's taking you dating this Carl kid – or should I say Prefect-Face – pretty well."

"Carl and I aren't...what do you mean? Why shouldn't he be taking it well?" she asked suddenly.

"Hmm? You and Carl aren't what?"

"Dating, he hasn't asked me yet. Don't avoid my other question though, Rox," Lily demanded.

"Silly sod hasn't asked you out proper yet?"

Lily rolled her eyes. Yes, the sorting hat had made the right choice by sending her cousin immediately into the snake pit. She probably hadn't even had the time to attempt to trick it into placing her there. "No he hasn't, but there's nothing wrong with that right? No rush," she said glancing at her cousin for reassurance.

"Well you do like him, right?" Roxanne drilled.

"I was not aware that this was girl talk night," Lily spat.

Roxanne waved her wand lazily and Lily suddenly found herself in her favorite pair of flying sheep pajamas. "Hey! Undo that!" she gasped, looking around desperately hoping no one had taken that moment to look her way.

"Promise to behave?" Roxanne smiled as she twirled her wand between her fingers.

Lily nodded quickly and to her relief, she soon found herself in her gray school skirt once again. "So where were we? Ah yes. Do you like Carl?" she pressed on.

"Well yeah. I mean, he's a nice guy and we have a lot in common."

"Lily, you have stuff in common with a lot of nice guys," Roxanne pointed out.

"Yeah, but none of them want to date me," she shot back.

"None that you know of."

"Excuse me?" Lily asked.

"Nothing, great, just peachy-keen."

"You're odd sometimes Rox, you know that?" she stated plainly.

Roxanne wiggled her eyebrows. "Yes, but on to more interesting topics," she said. "Like you and Scorpius."

Lily huffed. "What about us?" she asked through grit teeth.

"He's currently sitting under the oak tree struggling with the same exact essay you are."

Lily sighed. Her cousin was too perceptive for her own good. "Two heads work better than one," her cousin continued, smirking. "And I think all three of us, even perhaps the whole school by now, know you miss each other. Go make nice."

"You are..."

"Amazing? Smart? Observant? Always right? Please, I've heard them all."

"Infuriating, yet somehow loveable," Lily smiled as she made to leave.

"Wait," Roxanne said, sniffing the air between them. "Put your birthday gift to good use, right this second."

"Why?"

"Because you smell like moldy books."

"I do not!" Lily defended as she tried to discretely sniff her robes.

"But you will," Roxanne said twirling her wand, "if you don't spritz right now."

Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed her gift from her bag. "Happy?" she asked as she applied the perfume.

"Mmmm, the smell of success," Roxanne sang.

The girls laughed lightly as they walked out of the library.

XxX

Scorpius was right where Roxanne had said he would be, sprawled out under the great oak tree. She walked slowly towards him, trying to gather her thoughts. What was she supposed to say to him? They had never fought before. Was this even a fight? There wasn't any yelling really, but she had been slightly hurt by his reaction that night. Something had definitely broken between them, she knew.

She would be moving backwards if she walked any slower towards him. Lily drew in a deep breath and looked up at him for the first time since she had jumped off of the last castle step. He was no longer writing, but his head was still down, distracted by something else. She gasped and stumbled, taking her next few steps way too fast. She looked behind her, expecting to see a stick or rock, but nothing was there. Her mishap had, however, caught the attention of Scorpius who was now slipping something into his robes. They made eye contact, and Lily was forced to take the remaining few steps to his side, trying her hardest not to make a further fool of herself.

"Hey," she said as she finally sat next to him.

"Hey," he replied as he shuffled his parchment into a neat pile in front of him.

Silence fell then as Lily tried to get a handle on her tongue. "Rox said I would find you out here," she said.

She heard Scorpius chuckle lightly. A good sign? "Always seems to know where everyone is, that one," he stated.

Lily nodded, keeping her gaze fixed on the churning surface of the black lake. "It's been like that all day," he commented when he realized what she was looking at.

"Odd," she breathed.

She could feel her face burning. This was the most awkward conversation she had ever had, trumping the one in which she had to explain the presence of Scorpius' boxers in her trunk to her father (again, another practical joke meant for Al). "So dumb," she said suddenly under her breath.

"What?" Scorpius asked, looking at her.

Lily drew in a breath. "I said this is dumb. You know, us not talking," she said as she met his gaze.

"Yeah, listen," he said as he dragged a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry about that night. It's been a weird year."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, I guess it has," she responded. "Were you serious though, about not getting me flowers?"

Scorpius laughed at the boldness of her question. "As much as I hate to drop this little gig against Al, I really do have to. It would hardly be appropriate for me to give someone else's girl flowers."

"So I guess it's back to normal huh," she commented, staring at her toes.

Scorpius laughed. "Has it ever been normal between us?" he asked.

She giggled as well as she looked up to meet his lingering smile. "I'm pretty sure the first words I ever said to you were, 'Get lost, snake.'"

"In response to me declaring you the most beautiful girl I had ever set eyes on."

She felt her cheeks grow warm as she remembered that day. It had been the first time a boy (besides her father) had called her beautiful. It had also, unfortunately, been the last. She couldn't even remember the first words Carl had ever spoken to her, or even the first time they had spoken come to think of it. She scowled at herself.

"Let's start that essay," he said suddenly, jarring her from her thoughts.

"What? Oh yeah, right, the essay," she said. "How far have you gotten?"

"Well I know muggles communicate on the internet using e-mail and electronic journals," he started, squinting slightly at his messy attempt at an essay.

Lily couldn't contain her laughter as she read the first few lines he had scratched out. "Muggles switched from pen and paper to electronic letters due to their depression in realizing that quills are far more awesome than the ball point pen? Really Scorpius, that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard in my life."

Scorpius grumbled softly as he crumbled his essay and Lily spent the next ten minutes trying to re-explain to him how the computer and internet work. "Are you sure we don't have it all wrong?" he asked after a moment of contemplation.

She shot him a quizzical look. "No, I'm pretty sure I got all of that right."

He shook his head. "Not about that, I mean, you know, who really has magic. That seems a lot more magical than getting ink all over your hands and hoping your owl knows where he's going."

"It's all about perspective," she replied. "To a muggle, taming an owl to deliver letters written on parchment seems more magical than the instant gratification of e-mail."

"Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you weren't a witch?"

Lily nodded. "Dad grew up in the muggle world, you know. He's tried to expose us as much as he could to their technology and ways of life, but it's not the same as actually living it."

"I kissed a muggle girl once," Scorpius admitted suddenly.

Lily's hand jerked over her essay as she snapped her head towards him. "What?"

She watched as his cheeks turned a nervous red. He had never mentioned kissing anyone before. He had never dated anyone (as far as she knew) during their time at Hogwarts. He had never even expressed an interest in girls...but then again, she had never really talked to him about those types of things either. She was stupid to think he had gone 17 years of his life without a little...action. She felt her cheeks burn.

"It was the summer after my 5th year," he began. "My parents were gone a lot between business trips and taking care of gran – my mum's mum – and I was left on my own with the house elf and grandma Cissa to check in on me. I met her at a park after receiving the owl stating my gran had passed."

Lily frowned. She couldn't recall him ever telling her his grandmother had passed away. "She was really pretty," he admitted, his gaze still not meeting hers. "Her hair was a shade of red darker than yours, and much shorter. It turned out her parents had split up a few weeks before and she had been coming there to the park every night since."

He paused again, and Lily continued to study his face. "We started meeting there to talk. It was nice in a way, to talk to someone who had no idea about magic or what my family history was."

"I don't care about that either," Lily said quietly.

She saw him smile. "I know, but this was different. She had absolutely no idea at all."

Lily felt herself grow irritated. She had never, ever judged him based on anything his family had done. They had been friends that summer right? Why hadn't he come to her or to Al? What made this pretty muggle better than herself? She cringed after the thought had passed her mind.

"We kissed the night before I went back to school."

Her fingers clenched tightly into her palms. "Lily?" he asked her after a moment.

She looked up at him, trying to compose her facial expression back to neutral. "Yes?"

"I thought you were going to hit me for a moment there," he said, gesturing at her clenched fist.

She tried to force a smile. "I – I'm just sorry Al and I couldn't have been there for you that summer," she said quickly. It wasn't a total lie...

He shrugged as he turned back to his essay. Lily turned back to hers as well, although her focus was disappearing as quickly as the sunlight. "Was it a good kiss?" she asked suddenly.

Scorpius rolled up his essay. "I suppose so."

Lily placed her supplies forcefully into her bag. "We should go inside," she said, angry at her curiosity. _Kissing is a private thing,_ she reminded herself. _Don't pry._

They walked in silence back into the castle. Lily's feet were moving on autopilot as her mind tried to recreate Scorpius' first kiss in her mind. Naturally, the girl was gorgeous – red hair slightly curled at the shoulders (not sprawling wildly down her back), flawless skin (freckle free and not pasty white), thin figure with just the perfect curves (instead of hardly any at all) – and Lily watched as the kiss evolved into something more...

"Password please," a voice said suddenly.

Lily shook her head and her vision settled on the portrait of the fat lady guarding the Gryffindor tower. She sighed and opened her mouth to speak the password. "I guess I'll see you in muggle studies tomorrow then?"

"Wha-" oh, he was still there. He had been walking with her this whole time. She blushed. "Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about...McGonigall announced a huge exam at the end of the week."

He laughed at her. "Liar. You were thinking about what I told you earlier," he stated, crossing his arms smugly in front of himself.

She glared at him pointedly (to cover up her embarrassment). A group of third years approached from behind them, and Scorpius grabbed her arm to lead her out of the way. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm not holding onto any more details, and I haven't seen her since."

Lily nodded, feeling a bit better...because she knew he wasn't keeping anything else from her. "The kiss was nice -"

"You've said," she spat suddenly. "Sorry," she sighed.

"It was nice," he continued, "but it wasn't right."

"Aren't all first kisses supposed to be this mind blowing experience?" she asked.

He shrugged as he studied her closely. "Was yours?" he asked.

Lily felt herself blush and suddenly wished she had just gone into the common room with the third years. "I've never...well the chance has just never come up," she said softly.

She saw him smirk. "Oh shoosh," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She whispered the password and watched as Scorpius grew smaller and smaller in the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lily jumped in her seat as the spoon twirled off of the table and onto Carl's lap. "Still a spoon," Carl said.

Lily covered her face with her hands in distress. "I'm so doomed."

"No, you're getting better! The time before this you managed to give it wings," Carl replied, placing the spoon back on the table between them.

"This is so dumb. Why would I ever need to transfigure a spoon into a bat?"

"When McGonigall says you need to in order to pass her exam," he replied.

She dropped her head to the table with a satisfying clunk. She appreciated Carl's time trying to make her less of a hopeless cause, but she was starting to grow very frustrated. To make matters worse, Scorpius had chosen that week to start coming back to the library again. At lunch the previous day he admitted to purposely positioning himself to 'properly watch the entertainment.' She could picture his smirk right now, hidden behind his scarlet charms book he had been reading this evening.

"You just need to swirl you wand in more of a...hey look at me!" he demanded.

Lily pulled her head up off of the table and couldn't help but smile back at him. "Try more of a squiggle like this," he said as he slowly traced a pattern in front of her. She tried, but was distracted halfway through by Scorpius trying to mouth something to her.

"Like this."

Lily jumped again. Carl had come around behind her and had his hand over hers now. Scorpius had hidden himself behind his book again. She watched as their hands traced the complex pattern, trying to focus on where her arm was moving rather than Carl's hot breath hitting her left ear. "Now you try...with the incantation," he said softly.

She gave another feeble attempt with no better results. She sighed. "This just isn't working," she sighed.

She felt Carl's lips press into the side of her forehead. "You'll get it soon," he responded, resuming his seat across from her. "I promise. One more shot?" he asked.

Scorpius started coughing, drawing her attention away from Carl's swimming eyes. She spent a few seconds staring at him with narrow eyes before she realized what he was doing. Peeking up from between the pages of his book was a sheet of parchment with the words 'Woollongong Shimmy pttn. 7.'

"Lily?"

"Hm?" she asked, turning her attention back to Carl.

"One more time?" he asked. "I've got another potions essay due tomorrow."

Lily nodded and directed her thoughts to Quidditch. After a few moments of considerations, she traced the flight pattern Scorpius had written with her wand and said the incantation. Several students shrieked and Lily opened her eyes to see a magnificent black bat flying frantically around the room. The librarian stood up immediately and vanished the bat, shooting a disappointed look towards Lily, who tried to turn her expression of triumph into one of apology. "Brilliant!" Carl said, looking somewhat amazed.

"Thanks," she said, beaming lightly.

"I'll see you in the common room later," he said, grabbing his things from the table.

Lily nodded. "See ya later then."

She blushed as she felt his soft lips hit her cheek, slightly infuriated that Carl could have such an effect on her; she had never blushed so much over a guy. She watched as he left the library. Lucy was right; he did walk with an attractive sort of confidence.

Only when the double doors swung shut did she direct her attention to Scorpius, who's face was still covered by his charms book. Lily quickly gathered her things and went to sit across from him. "Thanks," she said to the front of his book.

"Hey you know what they say," he said, still refusing to lower his book.

Lily waited for a moment, biting back a smile. She loved his witty responses, even if they were usually made at someone's expense. "And what is that, may I ask?"

"Never try to learn transfiguration from someone who is more concerned with charms," he said, snapping his book shut to reveal his classic boyish smirk.

Lily gaped at him. "Oh come on Lily. If he spent less time trying to charm your pants off and more time actually working with you, you'd have been done an hour ago."

"He's not trying to...he's just..." Lily sighed. "He's just not a very good teacher."

Scorpius mocked defeat. "This is also true. You should probably find someone who knows what he's talking about."

Lily sighed. "That's why I'm here," she said.

She watched Scorpius's eyebrows raise. "I wasn't lying the other night when I said McGonigall was giving an exam at the end of the week. Please help me?" she asked.

She held her breath as she watched Scorpius's hand stroke his chin lightly. "I suppose I could do that for you Lils," he said.

Lily smiled and pulled her book out of her bag once more. "Oh, you meant right now," Scorpius laughed as she furious flipped to her next pink page marker.

"I figured...well I am kind of a..."

"Lost cause?"

Lily blushed. "Yeah, that."

Scorpius grabbed the book from her and stood up. "Let's go outside. I think my aunt is getting annoyed with us," he said as he nodded his head toward the librarian's desk.

XxX

Scorpius sat nervously twirling his fork as more and more Gryffindor fifth years started filtering into the Great Hall. He watched as some sat down and hung their heads, while others smiled and chatted triumphantly with their peers. Finally, after what seemed like an age later, Lily stepped nervously into the great hall. She immediately locked eyes with his and he sighed when she smiled excitedly.

He returned her smile and began walking over to her, relieved. It was what he had been hoping for all week, that she would pass the exam he had been helping her prepare for. However, when he was halfway to the Gryffindor table, he watched as Carl pulled her to him and kissed her.

He stopped, his gaze fixed on the scene, watching as Carl's hands cupped her face, watching as Lily's astonished hazel eyes fluttered shut. Scorpius heard some faint 'whoops' from the surrounding area and they suddenly split apart, Lily's face abruptly turning the color of her hair. Carl whispered something in her ear that made her nervous laughter ring out across the hushed hall.

Scorpius jumped when he felt a cold hand pry his fingers out of an unconsciously made fist. "I'm done eating, want to come to the common room with me to swap out books?" Roxanne asked.

He looked back to Lily, who had just noticed he was standing near by. In a panic, he did the first thing that came to mind: gave her a thumbs up with his free hand and mouthed the word 'nice.'

"Really Scor? You're an idiot; let's go," Roxanne insisted as she grasped his hand more firmly and pulled him out of the Great Hall.

"What?" he asked as they reached the cool refreshing air of the castle entry hall.

"That was the most deranged and inappropriate thumbs up I have ever seen," Roxanne muttered furiously under her breath.

"I was just giving my approval," he said carefully as he pulled his hand out of hers.

"Yeah, but the expression on your face may have frightened the first years a bit. You had the crazy, jealous eyes, angry nose flare and half-shocked-half-fake smile going on. I have never seen anything like that in my life."

"Jealous? You think I'm jealous?" he retorted as they stepped into the common room.

"Your entire body radiates jealousy," Roxanne stated, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Maybe I'm just concerned," he retorted.

"Concerned that Lily has feelings for Carl?"

"Concerned that one of my best friends will get hurt."

"Hmm...No, I still think I'm right."

"Okay, maybe I'm jealous the guy is getting some action."

Roxanne laughed. "Please, that's not like you at all."

"Come on Rox, I'm seventeen. I've got those, you know, raging hormones or whatever," Scorpius responded, trying to keep calm as he set his satchel next on one of the tables.

Roxanne was quiet while he proceeded to empty out his bag and summon his Defense and Potions books from his room. Lily and Carl had just kissed. Right in front of him, right in front of everyone. He was feeling something, but it wasn't jealousy. That had been Lily's first kiss, he knew, and it was probably the most unromantic thing in the world. They had been surrounded by people, they were sitting on a hard wooden bench, and Carl's breath probably smelled of the garlic potatoes he had been eating.

He fastened his bag shut again and turned to face Roxanne. She had moved a bit closer to him and had a look in her eyes that he didn't especially like. "Rox, I don't want to talk about this anymore," he said firmly.

"We aren't going to talk Scor," she said as she eliminated the remaining space between them.

"Wha-"

Her soft lips brushed against his, and he watched in shock as her eyes closed and her arms curled around his neck. His lips moved quickly and sloppily against hers for a few moments, but when he felt the wetness of her tongue slide across his bottom lip, he grasped her arms and firmly pushed her away from him. "What the bloody hell was that?" he asked as he furiously wiped his lips against the sleeve of his robe.

"Raging hormones, remember?" she asked as she moved her face closer to his again.

Scorpius quickly turned his face to the side. "It's not like that-" He struggled with his words as Roxanne's teeth gently grazed the lobe of his ear. "I don't like you like that!"

Roxanne laughed airily into his ear. "But what if I were Lily, right here, right now," she whispered, her warm breath tickling his ear. "What if her lips (she dragged her index finger across his lower lip) were parted on yours? Her fingers pulling at your hair, her breath gasping into your neck, her hands trailing down your-"

Scorpius yelped as she tugged on his uncomfortable tight waistline. "Lily-"

"Jealous," Roxanne said stepping away from him abruptly.

He shook his head. "Rox, that was unnaccept- you are seriously mental. Mental." he stated as he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"You can't hide your feelings from me, Malfoy," Roxanne replied as she quickly swapped out the contents of her bag. "And for the record," she said as he picked up his own bag, "I don't have feelings like that for you – whatsoever – and this NEVER happened," she finished as she applied a new coat of light pink lip gloss.

"Agreed," Scorpius said quickly. "But we probably shouldn't hang out for the next few days."

Roxanne looked at him quizzically. "Just because you don't have those feelings, doesn't mean that this still wasn't weird. I might need to wash my mouth out a few times and learn how to do isolated memory charms."

Roxanne laughed loudly. "Deal. As long as you admit you have a thing for my cousin."

Scorpius clamped his lips tightly together and walked out of the common room. The truth was, it didn't matter if he admitted he had feelings for Lily. She was still with Prefect-Face, and there was nothing he could do about that.


End file.
